'Crazy ants' invade Southern states, altering ecosystem

1:40 PM,
Jun. 30, 2013

Crazy Ants have been reported to cause more than $146 million in damage in Texas. The ants are known to get into electrical wiring and appliances. This image shows hundreds of Crazy ants stuck in electrical wiring.

Written by

Lindsay Friedman
USA Today

If you're in Texas, Florida or other Southern states this summer, watch out for "crazy ants," warns Edward LeBrun, a University of Texas research associate who studies the species.

Also known to scientists as Nylanderia fulva, they're called crazy because of their unpredictable movements and swarming populations. The bug is reddish-brown, about an eighth of an inch long and has a hankering for honey dew - with a side of electronics. The insects nest anywhere and are easily transported, but so far have mostly infested Texas and several Southern states after being inadvertently ...